


Beyond the Barrens

by wrennflint



Category: Original Work
Genre: Dragons, F/M, Interspecies Sex, Magic, Mates, Romance, Shapeshifting, Size Difference, Size Kink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-01 07:16:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13993206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrennflint/pseuds/wrennflint
Summary: When Laurel's brother and father die within weeks of each other, their combined magic is released into the wild where it grows, threatening to reopen the rift that was closed generations ago. When it becomes clear that she must travel north of the Fringe to seek out the elusive Taavuk, her entire world shifts. She learns why she has never been able to wield her magic as effectively as she would like, and what she must do in order to save their world from destruction.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not done with this one yet, but I have other things that (unfortunately) take priority over writing. Sigh. I have another chapter I'm halfway through and hope to post it soon.

Chapter 1

 

Laurel sat beside her father’s bed in the stifling heat of his chambers. She’d tried to convince him to open a window and let in some fresh air, but he was content to stoke the fire and stew in his sickroom haze.

“It will not be long, daughter. There are things I have never told you. I had hoped to have an heir to take my responsibilities but…”

“You did not cause Eldon’s death. Much as I loved my brother, he was a fool.” Laurel was still reeling from her brother’s sudden death, when her father fell ill. The once proud and healthy man had been reduced to flesh and bone within weeks.

“There is no time…seek Taavuk. He is the only one who can help you now.”

“Who is Taavuk…? Father?”

His grip on her hand loosened and what little air he’d managed to draw into his lungs was expelled in a frothy gurgle. Laurel covered his face with a prayer cloth and shook the court physician’s shoulder gently.

“Amon!”

He jumped violently, knocking his spectacles from the top of his balding head.

“The king?”

“Dead. I will have Valdor fetched.”

Laurel walked quietly into the antechamber where the king’s longtime maid Allyri slept on a narrow cot under the window. The woman woke to a slight whisper and used the passage behind the wall to discreetly fetch Valdor from his chambers.

Valdor crept in on velvet slippers. “Your Highness. How long?”

Although she had been expecting the title for some time, it jolted her system. “Just now, Valdor. We must notify the council immediately. Who is not in residence right now?”

“Lord Ballat is the only one at home, but he is less than a day’s ride away.”

“Which means three days at a minimum before he could get here.”

“He will come if you summon him.”

“There is no need. We have more than enough for a quorum, and his wife is due to give birth at any moment. No, send a messenger to let him know he is to stay at home with his wife.”

Valdor smiled. “And the others?”

“Wake them all. Dawn is only an hour away.”

Laurel returned to her own chambers to dress, finding her maid already awake.

“Esbeth, I will need formal court dress today. The black and gold, I think.”

“Your Highness, I am sorry. Your father was a great man and a great king.”

“Thank you. Ring for hot water, please.”

Laurel shucked the black taffeta day gown she’d been wearing for three days and sank into the hot water with a heavy sigh. Her entire body hurt and the tension from her shoulders had crept its way into her skull. Not even the hot water seemed to melt it away.

Laurel applied light cosmetics while Esbeth braided and coiled her still wet hair into a simple braided crown. The black dress she had chosen was cut in a severe and modest silhouette and required no corseting. As fashionable as it was, she abhorred the practice. It was nearly impossible to sword fight or ride properly in a corset, and she would not sacrifice her skill for style. The heavy black silk, embroidered lightly with gold thread, hugged her torso and arms and feel from her waist to the floor in gentle pleats. Until her period of mourning expired, she would be expected to wear black daily.

She smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from her dress and looked herself in the mirror. “Here we go. Gods give me strength”

The rest of the day proceeded as smoothly as she’d hoped, but a palpable unease settled over the room as the day wore on. When she thought she might choke on the secrecy, she finally spoke up.

She interrupted the clerk’s accounting of the stockrooms and looked around the table. “Neran, pardon me. I need clarity on a few matters.”

Valdor shot a glance at Teneris. “We thought you might.”

“Who or what is Taavuk? My father advised me to ‘seek Taavuk’ with his last breath.”

Valdor stood. “Taavuk Zhadu is a sorcerer who lives in the Fringe. With the death of your brother and father in such a short time, their magic was not contained and has escaped.”

“Wild magic? Gods. Why wasn’t I told of this two weeks ago? It was clear that my father was dying and no one bothered to bring this up!”

Completely ignoring her question, Valdor continued. “Taavuk is powerful and is the only one who can rein it in before a rift is opened. Because your magic is not as strong as theirs, you cannot contain it all. It would kill you.”

“I have to try and absorb some of it. That much power loose on the world…” Black spots appeared in her field of vision and her ears hummed. She downed the rest of her wine and stood, refusing to pass out in front of the council.

“If it can be done, Taavuk will know how to do it. But you are the only remaining heir and we cannot put your life at risk.”

“We all know that is not true.”

At her proclamation the room became completely silent. Valdor spoke quietly measuring his words carefully. “There is the possibility of another heir.”

“An illegitimate heir!” Teneris interrupted.

“He has been legitimized. It was my father’s last act as king after my brother died.”

“He cannot without approval of the council!”

“We knew nothing of this!”

Laurel held up a silencing hand. “I assure you, it is perfectly legal. The document was signed by a priest and two members of the royal family before being placed in the archives. The boy has always known he is my brother and has been taken care of _by the king himself_ his entire life! I will not be crossed in this.”

Valdor sat, defeated. “What are you proposing?”

“He is far too young to undertake a journey to the Fringe. He and his mother need to be brought to the castle immediately for protection. I will travel with two of my paladins and find Taavuk myself. In my absence, Valdor is regent. Until Cassin is properly groomed and trained to control whatever magical ability he may have, he is not to make any decisions on his own.”

“You speak as if you plan to die.”

“There is a strong possibility that I may. I will have documents drafted to settle my affairs by the end of the day tomorrow. When the funeral rites are complete, I will leave for The Fringe.”

Solidan spoke up. “We will have no way of contacting you once you breach the barrier.”

“I will leave a heart stone behind. It is the only way to know for sure that I am still alive. Valdor would not have been named regent if my father did not trust him completely. If I fail, there won’t be much of a kingdom left to rule in any case.”

“If the magic cannot be contained…”

“We must prepare for that eventuality as well, Valdor. Strengthen the wards and bring as many people you can inside the castle walls. I’m not sure what else can be done. Erathsa?”

The court mage was a tiny woman with dark hair and sparkling black eyes. Laurel knew she was much older than she looked, and she had been the court mage for over a century already. “If you are able to absorb some of the magic that was loosed, we can perhaps prevent a cataclysm. Just enough to strengthen your own powers and contain what can be contained. Taavuk may be able to direct the rest of it into a reliquary or a grimoire.”

“Develop contingency plans for _everything_. Recall all mages and paladins under royal decree, except those that can defend any outlying areas.  Did this not happen before in the last cataclysm?”

“Once before,” Erastha whispered. “Taavuk was the result. The magic has surely grown in power by now. It has a will of its own, and capture is not a certainty. It must be _enticed_.”

***

Laurel endured two days of funeral rites before she concluded them and had her father’s body interred in the royal tomb. Royal funeral rites usually lasted a full week, but she had no time to wait. Traveling to the Fringe from the Golden City would take six days if the weather held.

Mages and paladins from all over the kingdom had begun to arrive, answering Erathsa’s summons. Some traveled on foot, and the more talented of the lot simply teleported to the castle gates.  Those who opted to stay and protect their home cities did so with a warning that no help would be forthcoming.

Laurel decided to only take one paladin with her, leaving Marisk behind to help defend the Golden City. Although there was no animosity between Laurel and Marisk, she and Anthor had a better relationship. He had been like a big brother to her from the day he was assigned as her personal guard. They left before dawn to get ahead of the weather, hoping they could make it to Parado before they had to stop. They picked up a brisk trot after clearing the wall, eyeing the horizon warily. Purple clouds strung with lightning clotted the eastern sky and it was likely that the Cliffs were under assault by wind-driven rain.  Laurel hoped it was truly bad weather and not the beginnings of a magical onslaught.

Laurel’s sense of foreboding grew with every mile closer they got to Parado. She felt as if she were in a dream she could not wake up from, that some beast stalked her every step. She cast several Sight spells but nothing out of the ordinary appeared. When they reached the crossroads between the city and Parado, they rested the horses and ate lunch. Wagons, travelers on foot and horseback flowed by them in a steady stream. Laurel stopped every wagon with room and offered them coin to pick up travelers on foot, especially if there were children in the group.  

“Anthor, I believe we are approaching a ward. I haven’t been able to shake this creeping doom all day. The closer we get the worse it becomes.”

“It’s not a ward so much as a deflection spell. It takes less magic and energy to cast a glyph spell that warns any incomers of danger.”

“Do you recognize the signature?”

Anthor hesitated. “Yes.”

“But?”

“There is something dark within it, and I don’t think Greff would have been so careless. He is a powerful and experienced mage. Something else lurks in Parador. I need to glyph your armor to be safe.”

Anthor cast a runic spell that glowed for a few moments before disappearing and blending in with the worn black leather of her light armor. She felt a slight tingle along her spine and her fear and anxiety vanished instantly. Anthor’s inner voice whispered in her head for just a moment. She blushed to the roots of her hair.

“You may want to shield your thoughts as well, Anthor.”

He paled. “My apologies, Your Highness.”

“None necessary, just guard your feelings so they can’t be used against you. Or me. I know the spell you cast is partly to blame, but it would be best if you can bury it deep in your mind.”

“Consider it mastered.”

With the horses rested and Laurel’s legs sufficiently stretched, they started out at brisk but easy pace to eat up the distance that still lay between them and Parador. The weather had held most of the day, but the breeze cooled and Laurel felt moisture against her skin.

“We won’t make it before it rains,” she mused. “I just hope we don’t get drowned.”

When the humidity turned to drizzle, they stopped and unrolled waxed canvas cloaks from their packs. They had to slow the horses when the drizzle turned to a downpour, churning the road to mud.  They plodded on for what seemed like an interminable amount of time before the Parador stables appeared as a black shape in the driving rain. No lanterns glowed in any window, and the only sound Laurel could hear was the driving of rain on the stable roof.

“Where is everyone?” Laurel whispered.

“Another spell.” Anthor waved his hand to dispel the illusion, and at once the small village came to life. No one walked about, but dim lights glowed in a few windows and she could smell wood smoke. She knocked on the stable door, which seemed to be barred from the inside, but no one answered.

“Arris! Please open up!”

She heard the bar being raised and a pale face peeked out through the barely cracked door.

“Oh, Your Highness!”

“Not tonight, Arris. As far as anyone else knows we are just two travelers. You got word from the castle that we would be coming?”

Arris nodded enthusiastically. “Fresh horses have been readied, and as soon as you leave we are to evacuate to the city.”

Laurel pressed several coins into his palm. “Take my wagons and horses that are stabled here and get everyone out who is willing to go. Anyone who stays behind should be armed.  Anthor will fortify the wards before we leave.”

“Master Greff is staying. He says he can better defend the city from the outside, and protect anyone who may be traveling through here.”

Anthor grunted. “He is here? I picked up his signature, but I was not aware that the man himself was about.”

“You always were a lousy student.” A deep voice rumbled from the loft overhead.

“Ah, there he is.”

The stable door swung wide and one of the tallest men Laurel had ever seen stepped into the light. He bowed deeply to Laurel, but refrained from using her title. He and Anthor clasped forearms.

Greff lowered his voice to a murmur. “Do you travel to the Fringe?”

Laurel nodded. “I seek Taavuk. Somehow my magical education neglected the entirety of his existence. Until my father bid me to find him, he was unknown to me.”

“There is likely a reason for that, but I’m certain he will need to explain them to you.”

“I hope so. I feel woefully unprepared for the situation I find myself in. Arris, I need a mug of ale and a warm blanket. We have a long day tomorrow.”


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 

Laurel and Anthor tasked Greff with ferreting out the dark magic that had piggybacked on his spell, leaving before dawn again after a fitful night and little sleep. The rain had stopped at some point in the night, but a heavy fog draped over the evergreens. Where the hardwoods had begun to shed their leaves, visibility was a bit better, but it would be slow going.

A sharp feeling, like a fingernail dragging up the back of her neck alerted her to danger nearby. The horses bucked and snorted, sensing something on the wind.

“Anthor…”

“Something approaches. I don’t know what it is, but it is of this world.”

“Should we run for it?”

“Anything big enough to frighten the horses can also run them down unless we get a head start. Pick up speed but be prepared to fight.”

Laurel tried to cast Sight, but a night of little sleep had dulled her perception. “I can’t get a read on it.”

“It smells like a bear. With any luck, he is getting fat and ready to retire for the winter. It’s not likely that he will venture much closer to the road.”

Laurel kneed her horse gently into a canter until the sensation of being hunted had passed. As the day wore on, the fog lifted but the air cooled the farther into the foothills they traveled. When they stopped for lunch conversation was sparse and the road practically deserted.  She felt exhaustion creeping in and longed for a nap. Court life had made her soft, and she lamented every moment she hadn’t spent in the yards training with her paladins.

“I hope this damp clears by tomorrow.”

Anthor grunted in agreement and passed her the water skin. “I can deal the cold or the heat, but neither appeal to me when the air is so damp.”

“Are you getting old?”

“Ha! I was getting old when I came to work for you. As you know, the magic keeps me alive longer than is natural.”

“How old are you?”

Anthor sighed heavily. “Seventy-five.”

“You never told me. You don’t look much older than I am.”

“Oh, to be twenty-four again.”

“You flatter me, Anthor. You know I approach thirty this year.”

“Have I truly been in your service for twenty-five years? It does not seem so. You were a wee girl when I first came to the castle.”

“I remember. I challenged you to a duel in the yards your second day. My mother was horrified.”

“I’m glad you have retained your spirit. You will need it for the days to come.” Anthor looked at her longingly. Laurel bore his gaze but flushed under his scrutiny.

“You and I are going to have a talk when all this is done.”

“About what, my lady?” His tone was playful, but she knew the depth of his feelings for her.

“Anthor…”

“Don’t. I know what I feel for you is one sided. I have always known. Your destiny will take you down a path that I cannot follow, but I cannot stop loving you. I have tried.”

“I do not wish to cause you more pain.”

“It is a pain I bear gladly, for you have not been cruel or wicked to me. The burden of my feelings is mine alone. My life was never meant to be one of family or home, so loving you is enough, even if you do not feel the same.”

His words stabbed her straight through the heart. “If I loved you, it would be with all my heart, Anthor.”

“My lady, you cannot help your feelings any more than I can help mine.”

“Then let’s speak of it no more.”

They spent the rest of the day in comfortable silence and found Dothe as quiet as Parador had been. They bedded down in the loft of the nearly empty stables and spoke in whispers as they drifted off.

“I wonder if there is a mage here too.”

“No, this has Greff’s signature all over it, with no dark magic entwined this time. I have charged moonstones to leave at the inn to fortify the spells.”

“Dothe has a dovecote. We should send a bird to Erathsa and let her know what we found in Parador.”

“I wanted to send word last night, but a bird is more secure. I still don’t know the source of the tainted magic and until it’s discovered…”

“Anyone could be the culprit. Greff _could_ be behind it.”

“I had not wanted to think so, but I cannot let my friendship with him cloud my judgment. No one is to be trusted completely with wild magic loose in the world.”

“It should not be able to be wielded by anyone outside my father’s bloodline.  Aside from Taavuk, apparently.”

“Yes, but who knows what heirs your father’s ancestors may have left behind. Anyone of your ancient family line could possess some of it if they have any magical ability at all.”

“It is a risk we cannot calculate, and I can only control for what I know. We don’t have the time or the resources to track down distant relations on the off chance that they may be able to wield the magic. I’m more concerned about the magic itself. It will gain full sentience if left to its own devices for too long. At least, that is what Erathsa told me. I become more enraged with my education daily.”

“Your father did you a grave disservice in not preparing you fully.”

“He loved me fiercely, but he was incredibly short sighted. We have never had a war or had to negotiate trade with any of our neighbors. All within this nation prosper.  My brother and I should have both been long married by now, but he never thought it necessary.”

“He thought his magic would keep him alive much longer than it did.”

“There is still no explanation for what killed him. He was not ill, no infections. The physician was perplexed.”

“You are hoping Taavuk can give you all the answers you seek. I hope that you are not disappointed.”

“Someone needs to. I have been kept ignorant of these matters far too long.”

“Get some sleep, my lady.”

***

“This is where I leave you, Anthor. If I never see you again…”

“Do not say it. You will return and I hope you have the answers you seek.”

Her heart pounded and she longed for just a moment for Anthor to take her in his arms and kiss her. Not as a friend might, but as a lover might. She had a brief flash of the two of them naked, entwined in a hay loft. It had been far too long since she’d felt a man’s lips on hers, but she would not use Anthor to sate her own desires. He deserved better than what she could give him in return for his love.

Laurel knew the sheer wall of stone ahead was only an illusion, but it did nothing to quell her fear. Without belief of success, no one could pass through the wall. Laurel handed her horse’s reins to Anthor and stepped through. She could see nothing but slate gray clouds in every direction. Her breath caught and she held it, but she kept putting one foot before the other even though she had no idea where she was or what direction she was going.

She felt a tug in the center of her chest and her ears popped. She let the breath out and took it in again just as quickly. Life thrived in every direction. A verdant valley opened up below her and the quartz walls of the Diamond pass glittered under a warm sun.

“How is this possible?”

 _Magic, Laurel_.

A sultry voice whispered in her head, eliciting a shiver that was neither fear nor desire, but felt an awful lot like both.

“Taavuk?”

_So they have finally told you of me._

“When it was almost too late, yes. Where are you?”

_Here…_

The sensation of being pulled turned her head and she saw him at last. A massive man stood atop one of the shear walls of the pass, his dark hair ruffled by the wind. He was dressed for the warm weather in nothing but a loin cloth. She could see no weapons and he seemed to be barefoot. He was far enough away that she couldn’t make out his features, but he reminded her of the half-giants her mother had told stories of when she was a child.

Before she realized what was happening, he stripped the loin cloth and stood there naked.

“What in the hell?”

His body expanded outward and shimmered and a black dragon stood where the man had been moments before. He lifted off the ground with two powerful thrusts of his wings and aimed for her location.

“Taavuk?”

_I see they told you very little of me._

“They most certainly did not tell me about _this_.”

The dragon flexed his wings forward, catching the air to slow himself and landed in a rush of air and dust only a few feet from where she stood. His body was not much larger than that of a draft horse, but his wingspan covered forty feet easily, and his tail added another twenty feet to his body. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears and everything inside told her to run.

_You are frightened, yet you do not flee._

“If I had not seen your…man form, I would have run straight back in the direction I came from. My father did not properly prepare me for anything that has come to pass.”

 _I will see how much of that can be remedied._ He bent his forelegs, lowering the front half of his body to the ground.

_I assume you can ride a horse. Come._

“I ride very well, but I’ve never had the occasion to ride a horse in the _air_.”

She slid onto his back and clamped her knees on his sides, adjusting her seat to fall between two small bony spines on his back. She felt him chuckle beneath her – if dragons could chuckle – when he lifted off the ground and she squeaked out a protest.

_Just hold on. Even if you fall, I will catch you before you hit the ground._

Though his assurances did not make her feel safer, she leaned down between his massive shoulder blades to cut some of the wind that stung her eyes. She felt entirely too overdressed under the warm sun, clinging to the back of a dragon who felt like a heated cauldron.

The ground below got farther away and sped by quickly. The rocky, spare ground of the Barrens gave way to the icy peaks of the Frozen Wastes and she was thankful for an overheated dragon and too many clothes. Taavuk tucked in his wings and dove with no warning, pulling a scream from the depths of Laurel’s gut. She gripped harder with her knees and clung to his neck with her arms, knowing she would be sore in the morning.  Laurel felt him stop, and her eyes opened to darkness. His chest puffed out and a stream of flame shot from his nostrils, lighting a stack of firewood within a ring of stones.

_You can dismount. This is my home and you are safe here._

Laurel slid from his back and blinked her eyes in amazement when he transformed back into a man. Standing beside him, she could see that he was head and shoulders taller than her own impressive height. His broad, sturdy frame was leanly muscled and clad in silky bronze skin liberally sprinkled with dark hair. Although she tried to keep her eyes above his waist they had a mind of their own and roamed over his body from head to toe. When her eyes raked back up toward his face, his cock twitched and swelled in response to her scrutiny and she wished she could sink through the rock beneath her feet.

“I’m sorry to…ogle. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a man as large – as tall as you are.”

“I am not a man, no matter how much I look like one. I came through the rift as a dragon and changed my form as needed to avoid frightening humans. It was not as effective as I’d hoped, but this is a form I prefer over all others except my dragon. I can do things with this body that a dragon cannot do.”

Laurel swallowed hard and stared at the fire. “You are impressive in both forms.”

She heard a pleased rumble in his chest. “Do not feel shame on my account. I have none.”

“Obviously,” she choked out.

“Come. The human living quarters are upstairs.”

He pointed to the stairs and followed her up. She was eternally grateful that he did not walk ahead of her because he had yet to clothe himself.

***

“I’m not sure I understand what you’re telling me.”

“You are the most magically powerful of your bloodline in the last millennium. The last woman to wield such power was a fearsome creature named Menicara. She stayed here with me for a time until she recovered and returned to take the throne.”

Laurel wanted to ask if she was his lover, but she didn’t dare.

“Why am I unable to wield this power?”

“Your father had me bind your powers until you were ready. I asked him ten years ago to send you here for training but he was reluctant.”

“Why? It would have served the kingdom far better if were prepared and trained.”

“He had his reasons, Laurel.”

“Will you be able to undo this binding?”

“I will, but only a little at a time. If I release it all at once it may kill you. I can contain the wild magic long enough to prevent the rift from opening again, but you must take it on at some point.”

“And if I can’t?”

“I cannot save this world alone.”

She could not even consider what might happen if they failed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not done any editing. Still trying to decide if I want to continue writing and go the epub route.


	3. Chapter 3

“Before I attempt to unbind you, your health must be restored. You have been locked in a sickroom and in mourning for nearly a month.  You must eat and rest until I deem you healthy enough to continue.”

“Can this really wait?”

“I can hold the magic for now, and you are no good to this kingdom or anyone in it if you are dead.  In the meantime, practice your runes.”

“I practice daily.  My education in magic has been poor, as I am lately finding out, but I do practice what I have learned faithfully.”

He stepped over to a locked cabinet and pulled out a thin book that looked as if it had seen better days. “Continue to practice the ones you know and learn as many of these as you can.”

She read what lettering she could on the cover, but she knew what it meant. She had seen similar tomes in her tutor’s cabinet, but he had told her they were forbidden, dark magics that were not to be practiced.

“Blood magic?”

“Aye. Mastery of these will inscribe runic tattoos on your body.  The only way to wield such magic is through blood.”

Laurel swallowed heavily but nodded in assent.

“I will not intentionally do anything to harm you, Laurel.”

“Then let’s get started.”

While Laurel recovered, she learned though she’d yet to master the first spell in the book. Taavuk would disappear for days at a time, returning with game he’d killed or something harvested from within the boundaries of the Fringe.  She hardly noticed.

One afternoon they stood before a pile of tumbled rock in the Barrens, sweat pouring from every pore despite the chill in the air.

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong! I have traced these patterns countless times, and nothing happens.”

Taavuk took her hand and pricked the end of her finger with his knife, sheathing it again before the pain even registered. “It is difficult to call blood without shedding it, at first. Try again.”

Laurel raised her hands and traced the first rune of the hellfire spell. When she cast the second rune, her hands glowed with an unholy blue flame that somehow did not burn her.

“That’s far enough with that one. Do you feel the difference?” She nodded. “Now, brace your hands apart as if you are holding a ball between them. Concentrate the magic to that area and hold it in form.”

She did as he instructed her and the flames danced from her hands, forming an orb that swirled into itself but was contained by the barrier of her hands.

“Pull your hands farther apart.” She pulled them shoulder width apart, controlling the orb with some effort. “Do you remember the command to throw? You will want to throw it at your target using the command for throw and the word for your target.”

Laurel thought for a moment, fighting to hold the orb and her concentration at the same time. “ _Drra af ineze_!”

The orb flew from between her hands, nearly knocking her off her feet. Instead of the stone exploding outward as she predicted, the magic seemed to be absorbed into the matrix. She was disappointed until the rock started crumbling onto itself. No smoke rose from the rubble, but the blue flame seemed to consume the rock, turning it to vapor.

“That was unexpected.”

“You used the word for in instead of at. It should have been _Drra hi ineze_. A subtle difference, but useful when you don’t want collateral damage from your spells. Had you thrown it _at_ the rock, it would have exploded in every direction.”

“Interesting.”

“Again.”

Laurel practiced summoning hellfire, holding and controlling the orb, and throwing it until she couldn’t hold her arms up anymore. The sun set, and Taavuk shifted to fly them back to the castle. When he landed in the lair, Laurel slid from his back and would have hit the stone floor if he hadn’t shifted and caught her.  Taavuk lifted her gently in his arms and took her up three flights of stairs to the bedchamber she’d chosen as hers. He removed her boots, tucked her into the bed, and stoked the fire.

***

Upon waking, Laurel knew two things: her body had never hurt as much as it did at that moment, and she was probably hungrier than she’d ever been in her life. What she did not know or remember is how she got back to the castle and up the stairs to her bed. She assumed Taavuk had a hand in it.

She shuffled to the kitchen, finding an assortment of fresh fruit, fish, breads, cured meats, and hard cheeses on the counter. Laurel had no idea where he procured the items, but she assumed he traded with the people living in the Fringe.

“You are up earlier than I expected.” His deep voice startled her and she wondered how long he’d been standing there.

“There was a war between my muscles and my stomach. My stomach won.”

“You will be tired and sore for a few days. Take a hot bath and study until after lunch. I need to strip at least one layer of the binding spells today.”

“Is it going to hurt?”

“Not overtly, but it will not be comfortable. If someone else attempted to strip the binding I put in place it would be extremely painful and might even kill you.”

She suddenly felt like spitting out the piece of bread that was threatening to choke her. She swallowed it with some effort and washed it down with cold water.

“Why not do it after I finish eating?”

“Hot bath first. Use mineral salts so your new tattoos will heal properly. Come find me in the great hall when you’ve soaked the soreness out of your muscles. And wear nothing but a robe.”

Laurel pushed up her sleeves, finding the first two of the four hellfire runes on her right wrist. The skin was slightly raw and swollen as if they had been done with a needle in the traditional manner, but there was no ink or discoloration aside from the raw scabby skin. When healed, they would blend almost seamlessly with her skin, the only indicator being a faint scar and a slight glow when she activated the magic. The last words he’d spoken to her didn’t register until she was already soaking up to her shoulders in the sunken tub of her bathing chamber.

***

Laurel found the great hall with little difficulty. He had given her a week to settle in and explore her temporary home before the training had begun in earnest, and she remembered finding the room on one of her jaunts. The tall, heavily carved doors stood open, and a cold draft wafted from the room. She’d done as instructed and came dressed only in the heavy robe she’d found in her bedroom.

She didn’t see him at first. The dark drapes were drawn against the wan sun, and no fire burned in the hearth. She caught a flash of silver in the shadows and realized he’d changed to his dragon form.

_Come and stand before me._

Laurel shuddered but padded toward him on bare feet, clutching the robe to her body like a shield. She had grown accustomed to his dragon form, but it still activated her base instincts and sent a shiver of fear up her spine.  She stopped a few feet in front of him and met his glowing silver gaze in the dim light.

_Drop the robe._

She hesitated briefly but did as instructed and stood bare before him. He inhaled and wreathed her in a cloak of flame before she had time to be embarrassed. Laurel cringed, waiting for the pain but none came. Instead, she felt a welling of something from deep within her and her skin tingled not wholly unpleasantly.

_More?_

_Yes_ , she thought, realizing she hadn’t actually spoken out loud.

The pressure inside her chest increased and her skin prickled with the rising heat. She still felt no pain, but she was choking back mounting panic. When her breath came in ragged gasps and she felt her knees buckle, she wanted to beg for mercy but she continued until she thought she might burst into flames.

“Enough!” she finally managed to shout.

_Very good. If we continue like this the binding will be broken soon._

Though she felt like a wrung-out rag, she could tell the magic she possessed was stronger, as if it had been awakened from a long slumber. It pulsed through her veins and bolstered her resolve. Her stomach growled and she felt like eating her robe just to get something in her belly.

“When can we do that again?”

_Not today. Eat and go to bed. It is nearly midnight._

“How did so much time pass? It felt like minutes and you’re telling me we’ve been at it all afternoon and night? No wonder I’m starving.”

He let out a low rumble, but did not say anything else, expecting her to follow his instructions without question. She donned her robe and went back to the kitchen. When her appetite was sated she climbed the stairs and collapsed face down onto the blankets.

Laurel woke just before dawn surprisingly refreshed and absolutely ravenous again. She reached out with her mind, seeking Taavuk, but once again he was not in or near the castle. In keeping with their established morning pattern, the kitchen countertops were loaded with a variety of food. She ate, had tea, dressed and studied. They had lunch together and flew back to the Barrens for practice.

“You have mastered the first two runes of hellfire. Those two are deadly in their own right, but only for summoning and taking out a single target. The final two will increase the intensity and control of the fire, and you can level an entire city with enough focus and power. They are also effective at creating a barrier around yourself or anyone within range of your ability. Today you will increase the intensity of the fire and expand it outward around your body.  Hold your defense only. Do not throw it.”

Taavuk backed away, out of range of the spell. She summoned hellfire, expanded the orb, then realized she could not cast the runes while controlling it with both hands. Laurel focused her concentration on the orb and removed her left hand from the form. She turned her right palm upward and the orb followed, keeping its shape and size. When she cast the third rune, the orb brightened almost blinding her, but she willed it to darken while holding its intensity and imagined it expanding around her body in a protective sphere. It obeyed growing in size until it was an arm’s length all around her.

She saw Taavuk raise his own hands and realized he was casting a spell in her direction. It ws the only warning she received before the magic struck the barrier around her. Instinctively, she braced to defend, but the impact of his spell slid her backward in the loose soil a few feet.  Laurel grimaced, her anger rising.

“Again!” she shouted.

She had no warning when the second spell hit the sphere around her, but she pushed outward still holding control for defense only. She felt the impact, but it was nothing more than a tap on the shoulder might be.

_Surely you can do better than that, Taavuk._

She saw one corner of his mouth twitch upward slightly and felt the spell hit her defenses hard.  Had she not had a shield up, it would have thrown her off her feet. She faltered under the strength of it, falling to her knees. The orb faded and he cast another spell without runes or incantations. She reacted without thinking and threw up a wall of hellfire between them.  His spell was deflected, but Laurel could hold hers no longer. She collapsed on the ground and rolled to her back. The sky was dark and the wind blew cold over the sere ground, but she could barely feel it.

“Is it really so late?”

Taavuk’s shadow fell over her and he offered her a hand up. “It is. You did well today.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, very little editing. This is just raw writing, so there are probably more errors than I realize.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let the sexy times begin.

The rest of Laurel’s first month in Taavuk’s isolated home was spent learning spells for deluge, quake, and fury. Her mastery and affinity for those spells did not match her ability with hellfire.

“You will need to know those spells even if you do not use them as often. Fire seems to be your natural ability.”

“Why is that?”

Taavuk was quiet for a few moments. “It may have something to do with our bond. Surely you have felt it. When your mind seeks my presence, or you walk in my dreams…it is all due to the blood bond that was formed when I cast the binding spells in your infancy. That is why your father did not allow you to come here when you were fourteen.”

“He didn’t let me come here because he thought I might have sex with you? If he only knew what I was doing in the stables at fifteen he might not have been so prudish.”

“It would not have happened, but at such a young age the mating bond might have caused permanent damage to your mind and your abilities. We both agreed it would be best for you to grow up a bit and experience falling in love with a human before risking bringing you here.”

“I never have. Fallen in love that is. I have had lovers, but my heart remains untouched.”

“When this is over, your soul and heart will be free for you to shackle them to whomever you wish.”

“And if that is you, what then?”

“Laurel, I am not…I am not a man. The bond calls to me even though you do not feel it, but I do not experience romantic love as a man would. It is a much deeper connection, forged in blood and tempered in the soul.”

She moved from the bookshelf to sit beside him. “You’ve never felt anything like love?”

“Like you, I have had lovers but my heart also remains untouched. Dragons mate for life, which as it turns out is eternity in this realm.”

“And when the last binding is removed…”

“You will likely experience feelings you don’t understand.”

“I understand them all too well.”

“Do not be foolish.”

“I am an adult, Taavuk. I may not be as old as you, but I am aware of my own feelings.”

Taavuk stood, nearly turning over the table. The roar in his voice shook the rafters. “When I placed the binding spell on you, it was the first I had ever done on a human. I had no idea that it would form a blood bond. If I could remove it without killing both of us I would!”

He stormed from the room, and moments later she heard the piercing roar of his dragon flying away from the castle.

“And he calls me a fool.”

***

Taavuk did not return to the castle until the next morning.  Laurel had not slept well, pacing in her room instead. When he arrived in the kitchen right before dawn with a fresh kill she was already there, working on her second pot of tea.

“Are we going out today?”

He dropped a skinned and gutted deer carcass on the butcher block and proceeded to quarter it without even acknowledging her presence.

“When we fly out, take me over the castle. I realized yesterday that I haven’t seen it during the day. We are always flying away from it, and only come back when it is dark out. I’d like to see it.”

Taavuk said nothing but nodded his assent. Laurel left the kitchen and found her way to the hot spring beneath the castle. She’d found it by accident the previous week when she was looking for the buttery. Water nearly too warm for bathing bubbled up from beneath the mountain, pooling in a natural depression in the rock below the castle. When she’d asked Taavuk about it, he told her the spring was already there, he’d just built his home over it.

She kicked off her boots and rolled up her pants to drop her feet in the mineral rich water. While she sat, she used deluge spells to make the water dance in her hands. When she grew bored with that, she added a fury spell, spinning the water into a whirlpool and bringing it up in a miniature water spout.

“You’ve learned to combine the two forms of magic without any training. I know it was not in the book I gave you.”

Taavuk’s voice broke her concentration, and the water fell back into the pool splashing them both. “I feel like I’m not learning quickly _enough_. What’s going on in Tundiaa?”

“I directed the magic to a moon well in the marshlands and it plays happily with the harmless fae magic there. It will hold for a time. Rushing will do more harm than good. Are you ready to go?”

Laurel did not mention that he’d completely ignored her question about the state of Tundiaa and her people. “Yes. We _will_ talk about Tundiaa later.”

“I will take you there tomorrow if you wish. You have gained enough control of your powers that you won’t harm anyone.”

“Not unintentionally,” she quipped.

Taavuk took her meaning very well and smiled in response. She felt it looked more like a predatory baring of teeth, but she could only laugh.

“If you wish to challenge me, Laurel, all you have to do is ask. I will gladly pitch my magic against yours to test the true strength of your skill.”

That feeling she’d become so familiar with lately washed over her again in a rippling wave. She’d yet to figure out if it was desire or fear, or a heady mixture of both. “Today, when we go to the Barrens.”

“There is something else we must do today. Come.”

***

When Taavuk flew from the entrance of his lair, he banked left instead of flying due south toward the Barrens as he had so many days before. Laurel sat up as best she could, the frigid air stinging her face and making her eyes water. It was worth it. The castle stood perched atop a craggy peak with no access by bridge or land. It was not a largest castle she had ever seen, but it stood majestically above the mountain. Narrow towers stood sentry at each corner, and she could see a courtyard with a garden and a fountain. She had not wandered outside in all her explorations, thinking it would be too cold. She made a promise to herself to wander into the garden on her next expedition.

 _Only on the wing_ , she thought. A feeling of sadness overtook her. She knew once the magic was contained, she may never see Taavuk again. Bond or no bond.

His silken baritone slid across her consciousness. She’d been trying to block him all day but hadn’t been successful. _It is safer for everyone that way. Even if someone crossed the Fringe, the Barrens, and made it this far they could not breach the walls of the castle. Even on the wing, wards hold this place in secret._

_It seems a lonely existence._

Taavuk did not answer. Instead he turned south, as he had every day, flying across the Barrens and landing in a fertile glade in the Fringe. A small but lively waterfall cascaded over a short drop, forming a clear pool in the rocks below it. The pool trickled slowly away in a creek that meandered off into a thick stand of trees.

“This is a change.”

Laurel dismounted and dipped her hand in the water. She dipped her hand in again and brought it to her mouth. Clear and icy, the water soothed her dry throat.

_You will be glad of the chill soon enough. It is time to remove the last spell._

She knew without asking that she would need to strip, so she made quick work of her riding leathers, laying them in a neat pile atop a dry boulder.

_Stand beneath the waterfall._

“What did you say?” She’d heard him perfectly well.

_You will need the protection of the water. I must use more fire than I would like to release the binding spell. It is the first I placed, and it is the strongest. Please._

The urgency he sent along the connection prompted her into the water. The shock of the chill almost made her forget that she was about to be surrounded by dragon fire. Her defenses automatically went up, but she relaxed knowing that it would be much quicker if she didn’t resist.

When at last she stood shivering under the rush of the water, Taavuk exhaled flame that licked along her skin but did not burn.

_I will increase the power gradually. Stay with me._

As promised, the intensity grew until the tingle along her skin became pain. It was not unbearable, so she relaxed her mind and found the place inside it where there was nothing but calm. Time seemed to slow and Taavuk intensified the fire again. She hazarded a glance at him and could barely see through the haze of heat around her. Her concern did not turn to fear until the rocks beside the pool began to glow with the heat he put off.

Something inside her snapped. A scream ripped from her throat, rending the air and sending a flock of birds from the trees. The forest grew quiet and the orange flame Taavuk breathed over her turned blue, then white.

_Hellfire!_

Her mind switched from fear to acceptance, and she absorbed the magic, melding it with her essence. Euphoria permeated her entire being and she felt her body building for release. When her womb spasmed she fell to her knees in the water and cried out Taavuk’s name. At once he stood beside her in his man form again. She stood and ran a hand along his skin. The silken bronze responded to her touch, glowing in the wake of her exploration.

“Laurel,” he whispered raggedly.

She felt every emotion he’d held in check until now, and her own confusion and desire hummed along the thread of magic between them. Laurel pushed hard on the desire, sending it to him in a rush. She heard him growl and he took her in his arms. It felt so right that she nearly collapsed again but held on to him until she could stand on her own.

His lips brushed across hers, asking permission. She responded with passion and magic and opened to him completely. Taavuk picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, his cock growing hard between them. He walked past steaming rocks and placed her gently on a bed of deep meadow grass.

He kissed her again, his tongue sliding into her mouth, plundering its depths. He broke his lips away from hers reluctantly and propped up on his elbow. “Do you see now why your father would not allow you here when you were still a child?”

“Yes but consider all the years wasted. I would have come to you just as willingly at fourteen as I do now, Taavuk.”

“Then it is better you are here now. I would not have touched you until you were old enough to understand what was happening between us.”

He rolled on top of her and she opened to him again, cradling him between her thighs. She felt the tip of his cock pressing against her tender flesh and rose to meet him. Her arousal was obvious, but he pushed slowly, stretching her gently, letting her body adjust. When he was seated to the hilt at last he groaned with bone deep pleasure when she ground against him. He withdrew, stroking to the limit of her depth again, eliciting a cry of pleasure. Again and again he stroked into her, pushing harder with every thrust. Laurel felt her muscles tense for release and she clenched around him as he let his own release take him.

Taavuk collapsed onto the grass beside her and rolled her onto to her side within the circle of his arms. He placed gentle kisses along her brow, smoothing back her damp, tangled hair.

“I have waited so long for you, but I did not mean for this to happen today.”

“I do not regret it.”

“Neither do I, but I am exhausted and will need to rest before I can shift or fly. I had intended to take you back to the castle immediately and let you rest. I wanted to seduce you properly, over time if you were receptive to my advances.”

“This was a much more pleasant way to spend the afternoon. You knew exactly how receptive I would be.”

Taavuk thought for a moment. A chuckle welled up from his chest. “Your clothes were incinerated. You will be flying back to the castle naked.”

“Then it is a very good thing you are so warm.”

When Laurel woke later she felt cocooned in a shield of heat. She cracked on eye open. The light was filtered as if through her own eyelids. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. The light was blocked by a membranous wing and she felt the pebbled leather of Taavuk’s hide against her bare skin. She moved to turn over, brushing her breasts against the bumpy surface. She drew in a sharp breath against the unexpected pleasure of it. She had touched Taavuk’s back many times, but his flesh was spiny and hard there. Just here, between his leg and chest, it was softer and the scales smaller. Laurel trailed her hand over the unusual texture, reveling in the feel of it.

She felt a rumbling beneath her hand and realized that Taavuk was purring.

“Do you like that?”

_It pleases me that you desire to touch me. Your hand feels delectable against my skin._

Laurel increased the pressure, sliding both hands down toward his abdomen.

_I have not the energy to change back._

“Then don’t.”

_You do not know what you ask. Wait until we are back in the castle and I am replenished enough to do this properly._

Laurel knew it was the blood bond between them that fueled her desire, but she did not dare tell him she wanted him in any form. Man or dragon. She rolled away from him and sat up on her knees taking in his magnificent form.

_Are you ready to go?_

Laurel nodded and swung up on his back, naked as the day she was born. When she settled into her usual seat between two spines, she knew immediately that it would be a problem.

_What is the matter?_

She rolled her hips and moaned when the spine in front of her pressed against her clitoris.

_Oh. I had not expected that._

“I had not either. Just go.  I will bear the pleasure as best I can.”

She tried to contain herself, but the magic flowing off his skin directly onto her most delicate parts was maddening. She rolled her hips again, giving in to the sensation.

_Laurel, please._

She sped up her desperate grind against him and her release came as a surprise. She shrieked a strangled moan onto the wind and collapsed against him just before he dove into the opening of his lair. Laurel slid off his back, boneless and weak. A low growl from Taavuk sent her to her knees and she knelt on all fours before him.

_Laurel…if we do this there is no turning back. We will be mated and that bond cannot be broken, even in death._

Her words came out in a ragged whisper. “Take me!”

Taavuk let go of his reserve and hesitation and moved to cover her. He knew he must take her slowly or risk injury. He parted her slowly with his unsheathed cock and pressed into her slick heat. Laurel relaxed, but rode the edge between pleasure and pain as he stretched her to fullness. When he could take her no deeper he began an easy rhythm, thrusting gently. He picked up the pace, thrusting as deeply as he dared. Her own moans mixed with his growls of pleasure and he felt himself stiffen inside her again.  When her tight muscles contracted around him, he let himself go and pumped his seed deep within her.

Laurel didn’t dare move. Taavuk was still hard and pulsing within her and she did not want to relinquish him so quickly. When her arms and legs would no longer hold her up, she sank slowly to the floor, mourning the emptiness when he slid from her body.

_Are you well?_

_Better than I have ever been. Where is your bed?_

Taavuk did not answer but shifted into his man form and picked her up from the floor, cradling her against his chest.

“You wish to sleep in my bed?”

She tightened her arms around his neck and nuzzled his chest. “I never want to be parted from you again.”

Taavuk carried her gently into the depths of the mountain. He breathed a stream of flame into a channel along the wall, lighting what she assumed was some sort of oil or gas deposit. The flame licked along the perimeter of the room, bathing it in golden light. She was surprised to find a bed large enough to accommodate his dragon form, but little else decorated the room.

When Taavuk laid her gently on the down filled mattress, she did not release her hold on him. “Make love to me, Taavuk.”

He gladly complied, keeping them both awake until he felt the first light of dawn break against the wintry horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very little editing. I apologize for any glaring grammar errors. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
